Police Aesthetics : Literature, Film, and the Secret Police in Soviet Times

The documents emerging from the secret police archives of the former Soviet bloc have caused scandal after scandal, compromising revered cultural figures and abruptly ending political careers. __Police Aesthetics__ offers a revealing and responsible approach to such materials. Taking advantage of the partial opening of the secret police archives in Russia and Romania, Vatulescu focuses on their most infamous holdings—the personal files—as well as on movies the police sponsored, scripted, or authored. Through the archives, she gains new insights into the writing of literature and raises new questions about the ethics of reading. She shows how police files and films influenced literature and cinema, from autobiographies to novels, from high-culture classics to avant-garde experiments and popular blockbusters. In so doing, she opens a fresh chapter in the heated debate about the relationship between culture and politics in twentieth-century police states. The documents emerging from the secret police archives of the former Soviet bloc have caused scandal after scandal, compromising revered cultural figures and abruptly ending political careers. Police Aesthetics offers a revealing and responsible approach to such materials. Taking advantage of the partial opening of the secret police archives in Russia and Romania, Vatulescu focuses on their most infamous holdings--the personal files--as well as on movies the police sponsored, scripted, or authored. Through the archives, she gains new insights into the writing of literature and raises new questions about the ethics of reading. She shows how police files and films influenced literature and cinema, from autobiographies to novels, from high-culture classics to avant-garde experiments and popular blockbusters. In so doing, she opens a fresh chapter in the heated debate about the relationship between culture and politics in twentieth-century police states. --From publisher's description The Documents Emerging From The Secret Police Archives Of The Former Soviet Bloc Have Caused Scandal After Scandal, Compromising Revered Cultural Figures And Abruptly Ending Political Careers. Police Aesthetics Offers A Revealing And Responsible Approach To Such Materials. Taking Advantage Of The Partial Opening Of The Secret Police Archives In Russia And Romania, Vatulescu Focuses On Their Most Infamous Holdings--the Personal Files--as Well As On Movies The Police Sponsored, Scripted, Or Authored.--page 4 Of Cover. Arresting Biographies : The Personal File In The Soviet Union And Romania -- The Master And Margarita : The Devil's Secret Police File -- Early Soviet Cinema's Shots At Policing -- Secret Police Shots At Filmmaking : The Gulag And Cinema -- Literary Theory And The Secret Police : Writing And Estranging The Self. Cristina Vatulescu. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Title......Page 4 Contents......Page 8 Acknowledgments......Page 10 Introduction......Page 16 1. Arresting Biographies: The Personal File in the Soviet Union and Romania......Page 42 2. The Master and Margarita: The Devi's Secret Police File......Page 70 3. Early Soviet Cinema's Shots at Policing......Page 92 4. Secret Police Shots at Filmmaking: The Gulag and Cinema......Page 138 5. Literary Theory and the Secret Police: Writing and Estranging the Self......Page 176 Concluding Thoughts......Page 202 Notes......Page 214 Index......Page 255 Taking advantage of the partial opening of secret police archives in Russia and Romania, Police Aesthetics explores the intersections between culture and policing in Soviet times.